Understanding the customer base of service providers: An examination of the differences between switchers and stayers

Creating and maintaining customer loyalty has become a strategic mandate in today\u27s service markets. Recent research suggests that customers differ in their value to a firm, and therefore customer retention and loyalty-building efforts should not necessarily be targeted to all customers of a firm. Given these sentiments, it is becoming increasingly necessary for firms to have a thorough understanding of their customer base. Yet current knowledge is limited in providing insights to firms regarding the differences within their customer base. This research comprises two studies in which the authors examine the differences among internal customer groups in a service industry. As theory suggests and as is empirically validated here, customers who have switched service providers because of dissatisfaction seem to differ significantly from other customer groups in their satisfaction and loyalty behaviors, The findings offer some interesting implications for both marketing theory and practice

Capturing The Cross-National Learning Effect: An Analysis Of An Industrial Technology Diffusion

Recent studies on cross-national diffusion have observed that when a new product innovation is introduced early in one country (the lead country) and with a time lag in subsequent countries (the lag countries), the consumers in the lag countries learn about the product from the lead country adopters, resulting in a faster diffusion rate in the lag countries. This study attempts to examine the relationship between lead and lag countries and to systematically capture the learning effect that takes place between the two social systems. In particular, this research examines the diffusion of retail point-of-sale scanners in countries that belong to the European Union, the United States, and Japan. It offers interesting insights for formulating efficient international marketing strategies. Copyright © 1996 by Academy of Marketing Science

International Product Positioning: An Illustration Using Perceptual Mapping Techniques

In their recent work, Ries and Trout (1993) have attributed many market failures to marketers inaccurate assumption that they are fighting a product battle based on reality. They urge marketers to adjust their positioning practices by considering marketing as a battle of perceptions-consumers’ perceptions. While this topic has attracted much attention both among academics and practitioners in the domestic market, little work has been done to suggest how this line of thinking can be applied in an international context. This study illustrates the application of perceptual mapping to help marketers formulate positioning strategies for consumer nondurables (deodorants) across country markets (US and Mexico). © 1999 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved

Retail patronage behavior and shopper typologies: a replication and extension using a multi-format, multi-method approach

The continuous interaction between retailers and their consumers has fascinated researchers for more than 50 years and has spurred the development of many measurement instruments. While a number of shopper typologies have been proposed, these studies have tended to employ dissimilar measures, samples and retail formats. As a result, the comparability and generalizability of findings are problematic. Using a multi-method, multi-format approach, this study replicates and extends past research findings to provide a comparable and generalizable typology of shoppers. Based on responses from nearly three thousand shoppers, the current study identifies the existence of five shopper sub-groups across multiple retail formats

Traditional Malls Vs. Factory Outlets: Comparing Shopper Typologies And Implications For Retail Strategy

The scholarly literature reflects the presence of numerous shopper typologies and taxonomies that classify shoppers into subgroups. Unfortunately, the use of diverse methodological approaches has restricted the generalizability and comparability of the findings. The current study seeks to fill this gap in our knowledge by means of an examination of shoppers at a traditional mall and a factory-outlet mall. A mall intercept survey was used to collect the data from 1097 shoppers in the traditional mall and 827 shoppers in the outlet mall. Using a multistep-cluster analysis, retail attribute importance ratings were used to derive shopper typologies in both retail formats. The shopper types are profiled on attitudes toward shopping, satisfaction, repeat visit intentions, and other variables. Five shopper subgroups (Basic, Apathetic, Destination, Enthusiasts, and Serious) are described in both retail formats and one additional shopper subgroup exclusive to the factory-outlet mall (Brand Seekers). Future research might focus on other retail formats, including online shopping, to fully understand the similarities and differences between shopper types. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved

Traditional malls vs. factory outlets : comparing shopper typologies and implications for retail strategy.

The scholarly literature reflects the presence of numerous shopper typologies and taxonomies that classify shoppers into subgroups. Unfortunately, the use of diverse methodological approaches has restricted the generalizability and comparability of the findings. The current study seeks to fill this gap in our knowledge by means of an examination of shoppers at a traditional mall and a factory-outlet mall. A mall intercept survey was used to collect the data from 1097 shoppers in the traditional mall and 827 shoppers in the outlet mall. Using a multistep-cluster analysis, retail attribute importance ratings were used to derive shopper typologies in both retail formats. The shopper types are profiled on attitudes toward shopping, satisfaction, repeat visit intentions, and other variables. Five shopper subgroups (Basic, Apathetic, Destination, Enthusiasts, and Serious) are described in both retail formats and one additional shopper subgroup exclusive to the factory-outlet mall (Brand Seekers). Future research might focus on other retail formats, including online shopping, to fully understand the similarities and differences between shopper types

Good Guys Can Finish First: How Brand Reputation Affects Extension Evaluations

This research investigates how consumer evaluations of brand extensions are affected by two distinct types of brand reputation: a reputation for social responsibility built through commitments to societal obligations, versus a reputation for ability developed by delivering quality offerings. Through six studies, we establish that while the two reputation types equivalently influence high fit brand extensions, a reputation for social responsibility (vs. ability) leads to more favorable responses toward low fit brand extensions by inducing a desire to support and help the company that has acted to benefit consumers. Furthermore, the facilitative effect of social responsibility on low fit brand extension evaluations is more prominent among consumers who value close relationships and caring for one another’s well-being (i.e., those with high communal orientation), and tends to dissipate when social responsibility initiative